ENCHANTED WORLD SERIES BOOK 3: THE DRAGON'S KEEPER
Chapter One

During a college reunion, Maya Bradford replaces herself in an aircraft about to sky-dive with her friends but she couldn’t shake the feeling of dread deep in her gut. She soon understands what the dread was when her parachute refuses to open and she catches fire. When she opens her eyes once more, she replaces herself naked, in the arms of a mysterious yet dangerously handsome man but she doesn’t remember who or where she is.

She entrusts her life to the mysterious man to help her replace some answers but she can’t get around the strange pull they have on each other.

Maya couldn’t believe that she actually accepted being dragged up to her friend’s airstrip for sky-diving that faithful morning. This was all thanks to the college reunion she and five of her friends decided to do each year.

Last year, they went water-surfing and deep-sea diving. This year—gulp--she was about to plunge to her death with her friends. Maya was not a fan of heights so she wondered how she ended up there in the first place! With all the biting, screaming, and hugging of heavy objects along the way, her friends were still able to drag her out of the hotel where they were staying, pack her up in a car, pry her out when she refused to barge from the comforts of the car and finally carry her to the changing room.

Now, she was making her way towards the little charter plane that would take them several thousand feet off the ground where she was expected to jump out and enjoy it. Her legs refused to work but her friends pushed her most of the way, anyway.

“Don’t worry, Maya, I will hold your hand in every step of the way.” Gavin, the guy who has had a crush on her for the longest time, tangled his fingers with hers and gave her a quick peck on her cheek.

Maya rolled her chocolate brown eyes and pursed her lips. This was not going to turn out well, she felt it deep in her gut. Since she woke up that morning, she had some sort of anxiety or anticipation coursing through her blood. She clutched her pendant again she tried to calm down as the five friends went into the plane.

“So, what plans do we have this afternoon before the college reunion dinner?” Francesca, a pretty brown-haired, green-eyed girl asked as she adjusted the belts of her sky-diving suit.

“Well, shopping of course! You know how much I hate attending these dinners but since I am going to attend it—thanks to you guys—I have to attend it in style!” Natalie, a cute Latino—with the most amazing hair Maya had ever seen quirked her eyebrows and grinned lightly.

The three guys, Gavin, Sean, and Chandler rolled their eyes.

“So, while you guys shop, we will check out the babes of this town!” Sean wiggled his eyebrows at Gavin and Chandler.

“Wait until I tell all your girlfriends,” Natalie warned.

Gavin shrugged. “I don’t have a girlfriend.”

Everyone laughed and Francesca turned to Maya. “Oh, because you are waiting for the day that Maya actually accepts you?”

Gavin turned to Maya with so much hope in his eyes, it almost broke her heart.

She hid her sadness with a scoff. “Keep dreaming, Goldilocks, it will never happen.” Then quickly looked away not wanting to see the hurt.

But she didn’t know what else to do. She had known Gavin for the longest time and he had never changed his feelings for her but unfortunately, Maya couldn’t return them. She was never attracted to him to the point that she wanted to date him. She remembered one time they had even tried to kiss, a way to see if maybe it might arouse some feelings for him, but it never happened. Maya felt nothing but fondness and brotherly affection for him. She was happy that she had met him because he was special to her but she was also sad that she couldn’t return his feelings.

“You’ve been saying that for four years now and I’m still here.” Gavin ran his hand through her black locks.

Maya turned to him and shook her head. “Not when I die in this freak of an adventure, you wouldn’t!”

“You are not going to die!” Everyone exclaimed back.

Maya ended up laughing as she cuddled closer to her friends while trying to tamp down the dreadful feeling in her gut.

The plane took off and Maya’s heart drowned in its liquids. She watched as they got higher and higher into the air. She knew she wouldn’t have been this nervous if she were taking a normal plane from one destination to another but she was actually going to jump out of this one! She gulped hard and put on her headgear. So many things could go wrong while she did this. So many scenarios of dying a terrible death played in her head. A light sweat broke on her caramel skin. She felt a little squeeze next to her and when she turned, Gavin was smiling at her.

“Don’t worry so much.” He whispered. “It’ll soon be over.”

“Okay ladies!” Their instructors came to them. “Time to suit up and get ready.”

Maya sent a silent prayer to the heavens and took a deep breath. Since she was already on that damned plane, she might as well just jump and take it out of her system. She just hoped she didn’t pass out in between and forget to pull out the latch to her parachute.

“Does anyone need help?” The instructor asked.

“Maya!” Everyone exclaimed and laughed.

As the instructor made his way to her, Maya found herself rolling her eyes. “Sit this one out, Mr. Instructor, I can handle it!”

“Okay, get ready!”

Within a few seconds, people were already jumping out screaming obscene words that had Maya chuckling out loudly. When it was her turn, she touched her pendant again and closed her eyes before jumping out.

The red crystal stone pendant that rested between her breasts was once her grandmother’s most treasured possession and it was the only thing she received from the woman after her death. Maya’s family was quite rich, especially her grandparents. Her grandmother was entitled to most of the family assets when her husband died but when she died, everyone else got houses, estates, cars, codes to secret off-shore bank accounts, and all she got was that lousy pendant. Even though she still felt like she, out of all the grandchildren, was mostly favored by her grandmother, she felt cheated and as if someone had bribed the lawyer to change the will or something.

She wasn’t the person to take things sitting down but her parents warned her not to act out so that she didn’t build hostility among her cousins. Maya decided to stop the fuss and keep the bloody pedant. Somehow she felt it kept her closer to her beloved grandmother and whenever she was having a hard time, she clutched it tightly and sent a little prayer up into the heavens and suddenly everything felt okay.

“Go!” The instructor called out and Maya jumped but the moment she did, she knew there was something terribly wrong and she wasn’t going to make it all the way down.

Wind blasted on her face and body as she plunged lower and lower from the plane. Two of the instructors were right above her, watching everyone and making sure they were all right but Maya knew she wasn’t going to be alright.

The pendant on her neck began to burn. Her eyes widened as the heat sizzled her skin. She screamed and yanked at her jacket zipper to try and get it out but ended up losing control and found herself tumbling out of the sky at a speed that made her head spin.

Somewhere amongst all the chaos she heard someone calling out her name but she couldn’t see anything and the burning sensation on her chest got worse. She screamed in her head, called out for help but there was no one close enough to aid her and she plummeted like a rock right for the ground.

Then she remembered her parachute and suddenly pulled the latch but once it bloomed out of her back because she was swirling in the air, the nylon wrapped itself around her body making it hard for her to try and maneuver out of it.

Maya screamed as loud as she could feeling the inferno burning a hole into her chest and the heat spreading deep inside her body. Every part was throbbing with scalding heat she wondered how she was still alive. The last thing she saw when she opened her eyes was her friends above her racing towards her to try and help but she knew there was no chance they would get to her on time.

A heat inside her erupted from her chest like a volcano and engulfed her entire body, burning like nothing before. The nylon parachute melted against her as her body caught fire. Her eyes watered as she saw the red flames licking against her skin, sizzling away the sweat. She must have gone into shock because right after that, everything went blank...

Drake disarmed the alarm to the Ducati parked outside the underground parking of his new home; the Royal Residence in the Northern Sector capital city of Tacinia and jumped on it. He and his team had arrived in the Gyan district of the Northern Sector two days ago and so far, the sector had been peaceful with no signs of attacks from rogues.

Fortunately for them, the Royal Residence’s helpers kept the place clean and well-stocked in case they had a surprise visit from their king. Unfortunately, the weaponry was as old as time itself. It was a good thing that Drake decided to appoint Feror as his second in command and the male always carried more than what was necessary.

“Heading off into the city?” And speaking of the devil...

Drake removed the helmet from the front of the bike and jerked his chin towards the surrounding forest of the Royal yards. “I’m going to scout through the forest and see if there is anything we need to worry about.”

Feror grinned. “Not even seventy-two hours have passed and you are already up and about doing your duty. Have you forgotten what we went through several weeks ago?”

Drake chuckled. “How can I forget the sight of the Jinn King going psycho on us. Not to mention almost dying going head to head with Sorcerers, rogue dragons, and an army of Dead warriors!”

Feror flexed his arm which had a nasty scar running down the length of it. “How could I forget? I was almost sent to the afterlife by that boulder of a fucker King Rhol turned into. He left me a bloody souvenir!”

“I thought centaurs never scarred?”

Feror snorted in anger. He was a pure-blood centaur. In normal days, the male walked on two legs like a normal man but when the need arrived, his alter ego came out and it included a set of hooves and fur to go with it. “I thought so too.” he snorted and ran his hand in his overly long dark hair. “I was planning to skip into town later this evening, you know—check out the scenery.”

Drake rolled his eyes. One thing he knew was that his warriors caught up with the gossip about the Northern Sector and just wanted to go and prove it for themselves. The Northern Sector was known for two things, its rare gem mines, and its beautiful females. It also had the city of scholars, Ullanis. “Fine, don’t stay up too late, boys. Remember with are meeting up with the Nobles of the Gyan and Jude tomorrow morning.”

“Sure thing.” Feror saluted him.

Drake nodded and let the Ducati roar underneath him. It was strange how the machine’s technology skipped from the human world into the enchanted world but it worked much better because it was enchanted. It purred under him and he let it lead the way towards the forest.

Parting with the males he had spent most of his existence with was hard. He couldn’t tell Feror that because everyone believed him to be one of the toughest males to break. He and the four other commanders of the Realm of Spells; Jax, Storm, Ruvin, and Zach met up in one of their favorite bars in the city and drank themselves into a stupor. While he was sent up north, Jax was sent to the Eastern Coast Sector, Storm to the Central Sector, and Ruvin to the Human Realm. Zach remained watching the City of Agore; five brothers were torn apart in the name of bloody duty.

Drake let the bike carry him deeper into the thick forest. He had been in the Realm of Spell’s army for as long as he could remember. He was the second in command after Lord Mage. The only thing he knew about life was being a warrior. Now, he had to lead a team to keep the people of the Northern Sector safe.

Drake had a hazy past especially having a psychopath for a father. His father, Kruk, believed in the purity of the Dragon bloodline since he, himself came from a long pure-blood and one of the strongest bloodlines among the dragon clans. Kruk believed anyone else who happened to have tainted blood due to cross-breeding between species was not fit to be a dragon and he sought out to cleanse this taint from the Realm of Fire.

Kruk reigned war in the Realm of Fire, challenging the rule of Queen Malenna and attempting to end her life if she did not give up the throne to him. Kruk and his team would have taken over the rule over the realm if a plea for help to the Lord Mage had not been sent.

Drake could still remember the devastation he felt when he witnessed the male who he had looked up to and admired for so many years slaughter innocents in front of him. Even though Drake was barely in his teens, he could still figure out that what was being done to the half-breeds was not right. Through the rage and fury that his father could do what he did, Drake gave away the deepest secret a dragon was sworn to on how to destroy a pure blood; incineration of the heart.

Drake watched as his father’s heart was extracted from his chest by the Lord Mage and he could not forget the look of loathing, hatred, and fury that swirled in his father’s eyes when he realized it was his own son that had sold him out to the male that had his hand elbow-deep into his ribs, shredding away the veins and ligaments holding the pumping organ in place in order to remove it. The Lord Mage did the honor of engulfing the vile organ with white-hot flames.

Kruk’s face morphed to that of pure terror when he knew there was no escaping the fate he had chosen for himself. His body turned into ash and it peeled away, layer by layer into the wind until there was nothing.

The sight of his father dying in front of him should have at least dampened some of the flames of fury deep in his heart about what had happened to the people of his Realm and that he was too weak to do anything about it but it didn’t. It only made him determined to hunt down and destroy all the rogue dragons that were following his father. Most of them were destroyed but some escaped to the human realm, including the one that stole the Scarlet Shield; one of the Mortal Locks that were used to lock away the Dark Energy that threatened to engulf the enchanted world with its evil.

One of the reasons why Drake accepted to be in Lord Mage’s army was that it was the easiest way to try and replace the precious artifact and also to protect his people. The Mage had their ways in locating what didn’t want to be located and though it had been centuries since they had first started searching for the bloody artifact, it was dire that it was found soon because the last thing they needed was for it to fall into the enemy’s hands like the Coral Spear and the Light Sword.

As Drake drifted deeper and deeper into the forest, he realized that the wind was picking up as if there was a storm coming but the strangest thing was that the skies were blue and clear. He frowned and stopped the bike then jumped off and removed his helmet. He brushed his dark hair back as his violet eyes tried to scan into the trees to see where the source of the strong wind was coming from.

Twigs and loose leaves slapped him on his face as he shielded himself from the assaulting wind and from a distance he could hear what sounded like a scream.

Someone was in danger but he couldn’t pinpoint the exact location.

“Hello!” he called out as the wind whistled fiercely around him, ruffling his hair and threatening to pick him up from the ground.

I can sense your distress, keeper. Is anything amiss? The call of his dragon rang through the loud wind.

“Can you hear the screaming, Red?” Drake yelled over the wind to his dragon. “Try and pinpoint the location of the person in danger.”

I already have. The dragon whispered.

Drake turned around 360 degrees and glowered. “Where?”

Above you. Red replied.

Drake looked up and without a warning, a dark shadow appeared and something heavy dropped into his hands sending him staggering down onto the ground. The mass punched out the oxygen in his lungs and had him whizzing for air like he was having an anxiety attack.

“Fucking hell!” He cursed because he was very sure he broke a rib or two from the impact. He rolled the mass over and it whimpered and stiffened.

Drake’s eyes snapped open. He was afraid to even turn and see just what fell out of the skies. Claws were already lengthening from his fingers and his eyes were glowing as Red prowled up and down his head, eagerly waiting to protect his keeper.

Do you have any need of me, keeper? He hummed in Drake’s brain.

“Stand down, boy.” Drake managed to choke out as he turned and saw the mass of black curls and the luscious caramel-skinned naked body of a female beside him. Her face was upturned and her eyes were moving rapidly under her eyelids as if she was dreaming. She moaned again, her body arching from the ground, leaves, soil, and twigs sticking to her because she was damp with sweat.

Drake frowned and sat up quickly.

“Hey, Miss?” He shook her shoulders to try and wake her up but he couldn’t stop himself from staring at her perfectly molded body. Her breasts were full and perked up. She was leanly built, her waist tiny but her hips were flared. Her legs were long and sexy--

Keeper, this is not the time for such thoughts...Red crooned in and Drake found himself rolling his eyes.

“Miss!” Drake shook her again but she didn’t wake. “We need to get her to the infirmary.”

We have no knowledge of her. Returning with her to the Royal Residence can be very risky. Red chimed in.

“I was not asking for advice, Red, I was telling you.” Drake got up feeling his ribs snap back in place painfully. He ground his teeth as pain seared through his body but soon enough it was bearable. He scooped the female into his hands, raking her hair from her face, revealing a goddess to him. Her eyelashes were long and curled up. She had a small, round nose and very full lips.

Every part of his body stirred just by looking at her and he listed himself as the biggest and most depraved pervert in the whole enchanted world because he couldn’t believe that he was throbbing in his pants because of the female who fell down from the sky and could be a victim of a possible dragon attack.

Just then, the female’s head snapped up and her eyes opened. She scanned her surroundings then her eyes landed on his. She had big dark eyes that seemed to bore all the way into his heart. Her mouth opened to say something...until she discovered she wasn’t wearing anything.

“What!” she yelped and would have fought her way out of his arms but suddenly, she lost consciousness again.

“This isn’t happening.” Drake groaned to himself as he went to his bike and tried to figure out how to go about taking the unconscious woman back on it. “How do we do this?”

Silence.

“Red? Are you still there?” Drake called out.

I am, keeper. Red replied a little hesitant. That had never happened before but Drake decided to ignore it. Perhaps I could be of assistance.

Drake felt the muscles of his back ripple and suddenly a pair of iridescent red bat-like wings sprouted out shredding through his shirt and jacket. “Oh come on! I just got the fucking jacket. Do you know how expensive it was?”

Worry about the female first, keeper. Red assured him.

“Fine!” Drake groaned as the wings began to flap and take him up into the sky. “Scout for any immediate danger in the sky. If she came tumbling down from the heavens my best guess is that she might have been attacked by rogue dragons.”

Yes, keeper. Red replied.

“Let us hope she doesn’t wake up and make a fuss while we are in mid-air.” He muttered as they headed back to the Royal Residence.

Drake watched as the sun slowly went down painting the sky with hues of pink, orange, and red. Feror and his other warriors had left for the city which made the residence very quiet with only the murmuring of the helpers to be heard.

“Commander Drake.” A short, slightly plump female came to him and inclined her head lightly, her auburn hair forming a halo around her head. When she looked up again, Drake noticed the hope sparkling in her eyes and the small smile on her lips. Abigail, he remembered her name from the first day they arrived when she came and introduced herself as their housekeeper. “I was wondering if I should serve dinner as any other day since the other warriors have gone out for the night.”

Drake turned his entire attention and smiled lightly. “The warriors have gone drinking. If they sleep on an empty stomach, they will be grumpy tomorrow morning, and believe me, you don’t want to deal with grumpy warriors.”

Abigail chuckled lightly while she nodded. “I guess you are not the drinking type…or maybe Tacinia does not hold the charm Agore has.”

Drake looked down at his dusty boots and shook his head. “Tacinia has its charm--” and it comes in a form of a dazzling female tumbling from the heavens, he wanted to add but voted against it. “--But I still have a lot to do before I can settle down and enjoy it.”

Abigail nodded again lightly. “My son, Herman, he can be of help when you least expect it. Although he is a little clumsy and has poor navigation skills, he has other attributes that compensate for his flaws.” As Abigail talked, Drake couldn’t help but hear the admiration the female had for his son. “He has always wanted to be a member of the royal army so whenever you have errands to do, send him. He would be more than glad to do it.”

“I think with the warriors here, he will have quite a lot to do. Don’t worry, we will watch out for him.”

Abigail wrung her apron in her hands nervously and looked like she was about to say something but then snapped her mouth shut and bobbed lightly. “I better go and get dinner ready. Commander.” She quickly scurried away.

Drake watched as the female disappear into the hallway and hummed lightly. Did he look that unapproachable? He thought, of all the commanders of the Realm of Spells, he was the most approachable especially with the ladies.

He remembered having the Mage Queen, Noelle, weep her heart out on his shoulder when their king followed her to the human realm where she fled to after replaceing out he was her betrothal and dragged her back to the enchanted world. He also had given advice to the Jinn Queen, Lyrah, when her mate rejected her and returned her back home. There had been several other incidences where females sought him out in order to confide in him about their troubles….yet Abigail was able to walk away without a word. Strange female…he thought--

And speaking of strange females, Drake made his way towards the infirmary where the fallen angel was being tended.

“There is no change, commander.” The doctor sighed as she removed her white rubber gloves and dropped them into a bin. “She is still unconscious.”

“But she is alive?” Was she going to die? Drake had so many questions to ask her like who attacked her, how she got there, and why was she naked. “Was she--uhm--” Drake ended up gesturing with his hands.

The doctor frowned. “I don’t follow?”

“Did someone force himself on her?” Drake could imagine just how comical his face was to the doctor. “Did you replace any bruising anywhere?”

The doctor frowned lightly. “She has not been violated and it doesn’t look like she has any indications of struggles or anything. However, she has a bruise on the side of her left leg as if she had bumped herself on something--and…oh yeah, there is a burn mark on her chest--” The doctor held her fingers up, creating a circle with her thumb and index finger. “--about this size. Where did you say she came from?”

Drake scratched his head sheepishly and pointed to the ceiling.

“I see.” The doctor didn’t look convinced but she didn’t question. “Well, I will keep an eye on her, try some healing sessions and see if I can help her out of unconsciousness. I will send one of the nurses to alert you if there is any progress.”

“Alright. I will leave you now.” Drake left the infirmary and went to the back of the residence where several remaining warriors were setting up the training grounds and districting the helpers who were cleaning up their sleeping quarters. The young naive helpers giggled and hid their blushing faces behind their cleaning cloths.

Drake hummed lightly as one of the younger warriors puffed up his chest and stalked to one of the helpers then tucked her black hair at the back of her ear. The female’s face went red as she scurried away with her giggles carried up by the wind. Drake was no saint himself because at the same age as the warrior, Drake woke up to three or four females in his bed, each one paying extra attention to different parts of his body. It was strange that somehow he grew out of it.

As he was about to walk towards them, he stepped on something and it squeaked before he was engulfed in a red haze that brought him down to his knees in crippling pain. The unfortunate part was that he had inhaled some of the red haze and it burnt him like acid corroding his insides. His eyes watered but he could make out the angry bug in front of him. Was it a hummingbird? Its small wings flapped in fury as the squeaking proceeded, almost making his ears bleed.

“Twiska!” Some called and rushed over to Drake. “What did you do?”

“This big jerk stepped on me while I was sleeping.” The hummingbird yelled.

Drake tried to defend himself but his throat was clogged and he found it hard to breathe.

“Remove the haze, Twiska!” the male commanded.

“I will not!”

“He is the commander, Twiska--and--and wait until mother hears of this.” the male warned.

The angry buzzing stopped. “Fine!”

Just then, Drake felt a cool, refreshing sensation go through his body as a different haze engulfed him. It cleared his eyesight and his throat and finally, he could make out what almost killed him; a pixie.

She had long green hair tied up and stuck with flowers and berries. she was tiny, the size of a small doll. She wore lime green and white attire and she stared at him with daggers in her eyes and her arms crossed.

“Forgive her, commander.” The young male inclined his head to him.

“You deserve it, you jerk!” Twiska stuck her tongue out to him and flew away muttering. “You are lucky my pot of spax was far away.”

Drake’s eyes widened. What had just happened? He didn’t just get attacked by a pixie, did he? “What was that?”

The young male helped Drake to his feet. “That was Twiska, a forest pixie. She has some temper issues.”

Drake rubbed his raw throat and cleared it. “What is a pixie doing here?”

The young male shrugged his shoulders and frowned in confusion. “This is the Northern Sector. Pixies are found here in abundance.”

It sounded as if he was being told the most obvious thing ever. “And you are?”

“Herman, commander.” The boy grinned brightly.

Drake took the young boy in. He was barely out of his teens. Was he a Mage? Or perhaps a shifter, he was not sure but he was lanky and as pale as a merman. A half-breed perhaps? “So, you are friends with that health hazard?”

Herman chuckled lightly as he picked up a black duffle bag. “I look out for her because she has no family.”

“You are Abigail’s son, right?” Drake asked.

Herman’s eyes widened in surprise. “Ye-yes, how did you know?”

“She tells me you want to join the army, why is that?”

“Well, my father was in the army and most of my uncles also joined the army. I want to continue their legacy, sir.” Herman said.

Drake frowned lightly. “They are no longer of this world?”

Herman shrugged his small shoulders. “They died on the battlefield. They died heroes. I have all their medals to prove it. Wanna see?”

“Some other time. So, you want it that bad huh?”

“You have no idea.” Herman grinned.

Drake patted Herman’s shoulder and the small gesture sent the boy swaying around like a cloth in the wind. He was in terrible shape. “Can you wake up every day at four a.m and come for practice?”

Herman stood in attention and saluted Drake. “Yes, sir!”

“Practice begins tomorrow. See you then--and keep that fiery demon away from me.”

Herman beamed as he nodded. “Thank you, sir.”

Drake watched as Herman carried his duffle bag towards the warriors’ quarters. Was this what Abigail was trying to tell him, that although her son was passionate about being a warrior, he didn’t have anything going for him to accomplish such an achievement?

Drake didn’t judge because he too was lanky but felt as if he could do anything. Dragons’ bodies changed after adolescence. It was a rapid change that took forty-eight to seventy-two hours, others much longer. Their bodies went through drastic change which included gaining of muscles and bulking up in order to facilitate their first transformation into a full dragon.

It was the most painful time for a young dragon and some didn’t survive the change so the ones that did were considered males of worth. Maybe Herman was a shifter because the species that went through the change were shifters and pure-blood beasts that included Lycans, the Cats, Dragons, Centaurs, and the phoenix.

Drake made a mental note to ask Abigail about it.

Maya found herself in a dark room without a door or window. She couldn’t see anything and the ground felt muddy and damp. Maya held up her hands to try and feel her way through the dense darkness. Her heart was thundering in her ears. Where was she and how did she get there? Tears burned in her eyes as she tried to figure out what was happening. The air smelled like poison; vile and moldy.

Suddenly someone captured her hand and pulled her deeper into the darkness. Maya tried to scream but her throat had closed due to fear. She heard snapping of teeth and snarling like that of a wild animal. Maya managed to break free from the grip and started running. She didn’t know where she was going but she had no choice. Tears streamed down her cheeks and her throat gripped painfully as she raced through the space. The snarling and clawing were close behind her, catching at her long gown and shredding it to ribbons.

“Leave me alone!” Maya managed to scream but the creature continued to follow her scraping hard on the invisible walls. “Get away!”

She tripped on something and found herself flying across the darkness onto the hard floor. She covered her eyes and braced herself for the attack but then, something glowed in front of her. She opened her eyes and peered to what looked like a fire a few yards from her. Her heart began to calm down as she got up and started following the fire. It got brighter as she got closer and it basked her in its warmth, reassuring her that she would be okay. With shaky hands, Maya extended her hand to it, and the fire changed color into bright red. The shadows that were following her shrieked in pain and perished in the shadows. The fire didn’t burn her. Instead, it licked at her skin, soothing her and calming her.

Maya sat up with a start. She was panting as if she had run a mile. The room was dimly lit but she could make out the small peach-colored room. There was a needle stuck on her arm with a drip bag hanging on its stand on the side of her bed. Was she in a hospital? Her head was pounding as if something was trying to burrow out of it. Her hand automatically jumped to her chest. She grabbed lightly and discovered there was nothing there. She didn’t know why she had the urge to do that. Did she ever have something there? She couldn’t remember.

Peeling away the sheets, she removed the needle from her arm and swung her feet to the side. She brushed away her black locks and sighed. Her throat felt dry and scratchy and her skin felt very sensitive as if she had a sunburn.

Maya managed to stagger to the door and pried it open. Several muffled voices came from the other side of the room. There was a short corridor to what looked like the reception. She saw two women sitting chatting by the desk but this was no ordinary hospital; the women were dressed in attires she had never seen nurses ever wearing unless this was some sort of private cult hospital.

There were certain symbols drawn on the walls and she felt a sense of peace every time she looked at one or passed it. The two women were dressed in lightly blue flawy dresses that covered them all the way to their necks. The headpieces were like small scalp hats.

Maya moaned in pain when she stepped on her bruised leg and pain shot through her body. The two women turned to her and their eyes widened.

“Oh, Miss!” One exclaimed as she rushed to her while the other turned towards what looked like an office. “You are finally awake?”

“I will call the healer.”

The first woman got to her and held her up making sure she didn’t kiss the floor. “You shouldn’t wander around like this especially when your healing sessions aren’t quite done.”

“Healing sessions?” Maya frowned at the woman as she took her back to her room.

Maya was tucked back into her blankets as another woman wearing a darker version of the nurse uniform came charging in.

“You are awake.” She looked relieved as she removed her equipment and started doing some tests on her. “How do you feel?”

“I have a headache that is about to drive me crazy and a bruise on my leg that is throbbing as if it is alive,” Maya muttered as the doctor pushed her back. “What happened to me?”

The doctor frowned. “I was expecting for you to tell me that. Your rescuer tells me you fell from the skies.”

Maya frowned in confusion. “I fell from the sky? How is that even possible?”

The doctor shrugged her shoulders as she checked her blood pressure. “Perhaps you were attacked by rogue dragons, or sorcerers--”

Maya’s face paled down. “Dragons, sorcerers?” she scoffed nervously. “What is this, some sort of a joke?”

The doctor eyed her suspiciously then turned to her nurses. “Could you excuse us for a moment?”

The two women nodded and left the room.

“My name is Akira, a healer and a Mage of Cure. Who are you?”

Maya’s eyes widened in shock. What the fuck was a Mage of Cure and--and--where was she? Had the world suddenly gone crazy? “Mage of Cure? What the hell is that?”

“Who are you?” She repeated.

“I am--” Maya stopped as a headache went across her head making her flinch. “I am--” she frowned as she tried to figure out her name. Terror struck her as she turned to the doctor. “I don’t know who I am.”